Aufgefallen ist mir insbesonders dieser Satz :
>From recent statistics, it appeared that 99% of the accidents involved pilots visiting from abroad.<
Date: October 22, 2002 10:16 AM
Author: Lucio
Subject: A common problem
Speaking of visiting pilots, lately we have been facing another aspect of the problem here in Italy.
We have some very busy sites where local pilots have had a very hard time to obtain co-operation (or even permission) from the local authorities for their flying operations. The launchs and landings are often leased at high prices from reluctant landowners, and often the nearby communities, for some obscure reasons, do not especially welcome free-flying people.
Those sites are located in northern Italy and are well known all over Europe. The results is that, in addition to the many Italian pilots that fly frequently at these sites and who, more or less, know the rules and etiquette of the place, it is becoming more and more common to see every day hundreds of pilots from Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenija and other East Europe countries.
Those pilots were welcomed everywhere at the beginning, but lately they have started creating problems to the local pilots, and are even threatening the survival of the free flying activities itself in some areas.
The reasons?
Some of these pilots show very good skills, but many others don't. I guess the reason is that they have few flying sites and poor weather in their countries, so their experience, on the average, is pretty low. Then, due to the distance, they have to use their vacations to come fly to Italy. Once they're here, they WANT to fly, conditions allowing or not.
Then, probably due to the language barriers, they don't seem to ask for or to be willing to listen to any advices. Results: local rules ignored, private properties trampled over, forbidden places used to launch and land, priority rules ignored as well, helicopters going back and forth to rescue pilots from trees, valleys and lee-side canyons, newspapers always ready to depict the free-flying community as a bunch of crazy daredevils whose hospitalization expenses are born by the taxpayers. And of course, fatal accidents.
From recent statistics, it appeared that 99% of the accidents involved pilots visiting from abroad.
On top of all this, there are, as always and everywhere, a few a-holes that show little respect for properties, rules and traditions. They are only a small minority, but they are too easily remembered.
It's easy to imagine that this leads to uncooperative and unwelcoming non-flying local people, and to angry local pilots. But we've unable to come up with a solution so far.
Lucio
>From recent statistics, it appeared that 99% of the accidents involved pilots visiting from abroad.<
Date: October 22, 2002 10:16 AM
Author: Lucio
Subject: A common problem
Speaking of visiting pilots, lately we have been facing another aspect of the problem here in Italy.
We have some very busy sites where local pilots have had a very hard time to obtain co-operation (or even permission) from the local authorities for their flying operations. The launchs and landings are often leased at high prices from reluctant landowners, and often the nearby communities, for some obscure reasons, do not especially welcome free-flying people.
Those sites are located in northern Italy and are well known all over Europe. The results is that, in addition to the many Italian pilots that fly frequently at these sites and who, more or less, know the rules and etiquette of the place, it is becoming more and more common to see every day hundreds of pilots from Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenija and other East Europe countries.
Those pilots were welcomed everywhere at the beginning, but lately they have started creating problems to the local pilots, and are even threatening the survival of the free flying activities itself in some areas.
The reasons?
Some of these pilots show very good skills, but many others don't. I guess the reason is that they have few flying sites and poor weather in their countries, so their experience, on the average, is pretty low. Then, due to the distance, they have to use their vacations to come fly to Italy. Once they're here, they WANT to fly, conditions allowing or not.
Then, probably due to the language barriers, they don't seem to ask for or to be willing to listen to any advices. Results: local rules ignored, private properties trampled over, forbidden places used to launch and land, priority rules ignored as well, helicopters going back and forth to rescue pilots from trees, valleys and lee-side canyons, newspapers always ready to depict the free-flying community as a bunch of crazy daredevils whose hospitalization expenses are born by the taxpayers. And of course, fatal accidents.
From recent statistics, it appeared that 99% of the accidents involved pilots visiting from abroad.
On top of all this, there are, as always and everywhere, a few a-holes that show little respect for properties, rules and traditions. They are only a small minority, but they are too easily remembered.
It's easy to imagine that this leads to uncooperative and unwelcoming non-flying local people, and to angry local pilots. But we've unable to come up with a solution so far.
Lucio